There are two levels of testing.

First, on a Windows development system with Visual Studio 2008, Python
2.6.2+, and the msvc9compiler_stripruntimes_regexp2.diff patch applied,
verify that the embedded manifest in distutil generated PYD extension
files is stripped of the WinSxS VC.CRT dependency and that the
extensions can still be imported. The attached script (testpyd.py)
builds a minimal extension (testpyd.pyd), searches for the WinSxS VC.CRT
dependency within the pyd file, and imports the extension. The script
should run without exception.

Second, verify that distutil generated PYD extensions can also be
imported on a test system, which has no Visual Studio 2008 runtime
installed in %WINDIR%\WinSxS:
Install Windows XP SP3, preferably in a virtual machine. Do not install
any additional programs or patches, which might install the Visual
Studio 2008 runtime. Then install Python 2.6.2+ using the "Install just
for me" option. Try import the testpyd extension built on the
development system: run "python.exe -c 'import testpyd'" in a directory
containing the testpyd.pyd file (not the Python installation directory
containing python.exe). This should work without exception.

Importing the testpyd extension built without the patch fails on the
test system:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ImportError: DLL load failed: This application has failed to start
because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the
application may fix this problem.

Tested with Python 2.6.3 for Windows 32-bit.